Input on electronic equipment

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Done my homework and I'm ready to order the Garmin 4210, GSD22, GDL 30A priced at $2892 from BOE. Thought I'd ask for any input -pros or cons- on the equipment or the vendor before I take the plunge.

Thanks to my kids & grandkids it has taken 3 years to save my pennies for my GPS. Our boat is 3 years old and hasn't had a GPS.

Thanks for any input or help.

Scurvydawgg
 
Wow 3 years with no GPS! I hear the 4210 is a very nice unit, I am looking at doing the upgrade from my Humminbird 797 to a Raymarine c90w. One cannot go wrong with todays electronics thats for sure!
 
Not sure where you do most of your boating, but if you go to Canada factor in the cost of the charts as well. The new Garmin plotters require G2 Vision charts which are very expensive. As I recall, the Garmin G2 Vision charts were around $800 for the complete inside passage.
 
BOE (Jim) is a great vendor, but also we have Matt Unique, who will usually beat Jim's prices and is a C Brat!

I don't know if any of the chart plotters have the cartography for Canada, due to the license agreements--and the costs. I do have the G2 chip for up to the end of Vancouver Island and I think it was about $295.

Also there have been some problems with the 2009 chips. Check this site, Panbo and The Hull truth for the scoop. There is a general recall on many of the new chips.
 
Speaking of recalls
.Oh and BTW anyone can get a wholesale account an sell for less profit. Nobody is a "better" vendor because they sell for less, they are just willing to make less money than the next guy , usually paired with no brick and mortar location or service =ing low overhead. Perhaps the better vendor is the person that does it for a living every day , all day, instead of a hobbyist or supplemental easy money/discount person. Just thinking out loud , I could be wrong .......
Marc
 
Wefings":3qogazko said:
Speaking of recalls
.Oh and BTW anyone can get a wholesale account an sell for less profit. Nobody is a "better" vendor because they sell for less, they are just willing to make less money than the next guy , usually paired with no brick and mortar location or service =ing low overhead. Perhaps the better vendor is the person that does it for a living every day , all day, instead of a hobbyist or supplemental easy money/discount person. Just thinking out loud , I could be wrong .......
Marc
Click to expand...

That's pretty harsh Marc. If you prefer one vendor over another that's your business. There are those who do things part-time because they enjoy it, and some think that's a better motivator for good business and relationships than money.

To offer another example, nearly every day Captain in Boston Harbor is part-time. You can't make a living working as a dinner cruise or whale watch Captain and the guys do it because they love it. They are paid of course and every little bit helps. Are they "not as good" compared to the few who do it full time?

Some value the opportunity (myself included) to buy the exact same product with the exact same manufacturers warranty from the exact same wholesale supplier for less money than a brick and mortar store that would require more money.
 
One comment I have on brands of electronics - I would not buy another Raymarine. Once it is set up, it works great but the interface is SO illogical and inconsistent, it is really a pain to set anything up. Things that ought to work don't for no apparent reason. Barry spent a lot of time getting my C80 set up back the way it was, I can program computers but I can't set up a C80...
 
Matt, I did say I could be wrong . Not trying to be harsh , but I suppose I could get a part time captain job and offer my services for less than the professional captains in Boston Harbor currently make to supplement my income, but my service at my store would suffer ,phones wouldn't be answered ,questions and issued wouldn't be addressed in a timely fashion and I wouldn't have the time it takes to try to be on the cutting edge of my chosen profession. And we already have to match the price of the hobbyists and deep discount mega stores . I used to be on the wholesale side , and back then you couldn't get an account without proving you were a full time marine dealer [brick and mortar].I guess I just long for the good old days[yet I still feel so young].A guy in his garage and medical groups and law offices would try to get accounts pretty regularly. There are still a few "old school " companies out there that have a respect for dedicated marine folks, but soon the boat business will be every man and woman for them selves [most of you all have no idea] . Service will be even more expensive than it is now ,in an effort to make up for the lost profits from retail sales.And everyone will complain about it between bragging about what a great deal they got on that widget or HD radar and never see the connection. We still have some customers that appreciate what we do . And I like the fact that I can express my views here on the C Brats . And if I get to Boston and/or you get down here we will have a frosty one and figure it out and go diving or something. And Ill still answer any question you have regarding your Tom Cat that I can answer .
Marc
 
I have a 4210 that I've not used in the boat - YET. I bought an extra 12v cable and have been trying to lessen the learning curve by plugging it into the van while stopped. I like the size and the operation is very simple, the curve is gentle. I also have a 498 that I'll hopefully be able to put on the Nav side for HER to watch.

My experience with most purchases I've made is that dealer support is sadly lacking in MOST instances. IF I had a GREAT dealer in a bricks & stick establishment near me for a product, I would pay a premium for their support & service. BUTttttt there are some GREAT dealers out there on the net that can and will provide as good, or often better support, at a lower cost than the bricks & sticks dealers. We, thankfully, have access and knowledge of both types of dealers (B&S and Net) due to sites such as the C-Brats --- THANKS ALL !
 
Hi,
I believe BOE does install so they should have a strong technical backround. I have nothing against people who sell over the internet. But I don't buy fishing equipment from K or Walmart because I hope to try to keep the local guys who stock most all the speciality items that the more serious anglers would want. I try to give business to our local hardware because they have a great stock of items with out the wasted trips to Lowes or Home Depot's because they no longer handle the products or they are out of stock. Not to mention that sometimes they have a real shortage of knowledgable people. For the same reason I bought my Garmin 4208 GPS when I bought my boat thru Wefing's. I wanted it installed and linked to my auto pilot. I could have gotten cheaper through BOE but I wanted to have some sort of a relationship with people of knowledge that have a larger stake in the business. I can call or email and get a timely response to my questions from Wefings during normal business hours and beyond. I bought Garmin because of ease of use and their reputation for great customer service. No offense meant just my own opinion here. I just ordered one of the lasest G-2 vision charts of the Chesapeake Bay. The recall on the chips is over they are shipping new product now. My limited experience with my 4208 is that between my wife and I it can provide all the info I could need and more. Nice manual easy to use. Good Luck and have fun with your new toys.
D.D.
 
Thanks for the input.

The two main suppliers in my area are West Marine and was Boaters World. West Marine, when I first got the boat I purchased life jackets, flare kits, compass, etc. and spent $700-$800 and got a 10% discount for first time purchase for a new boat, however, this didn't apply to any electronics. We've done our share of purchases at Boaters World, recently purchasing the GPS antenna and mounts for $300 plus and no discounts. And then they had a going out of business sale and I went to look at Garmins and was interested in the 4210, they only had the 4212 in a bundle. They told me to call their catalog service, when I called I talked with a gentleman I could barely understand, struggled 5 or 6 minutes trying to get info on the 4210 and a price, finally I asked him where he was located, east coast, west coast, midwest? and no, he explained to me, I'm in India, so I'm calling boaters world in the US, talking to their customer service in India to someone who knew little about the product and how the rebates worked. I thanked him for his time and hung up. So much for the bricks and mortar.

In answer to someone's question, I do plan to take the boat to Alaska when we retire. I've commercial fished all of Alaska salmon fishing, and crabbing in the Aleutian Chain and Bering sea in the 60's, 70's and 80's. In those days Furuno was the big name and they lasted forever and you used charts and navigated. However, since I'm not an avid computer geek and I need something simple to use, that brought me to Garmin. It was the only one in the showroom that I could get to do something!

That brings me to Matt's website, when I looked at the website I believe it listed a 4010, not a 4210 and then I was unable to find the GS2 or the GDL30A. He had bundles in 4208 and 4212. I have no problem using one of the member's businesses, especially if the price is competitive. Is there a search engine on the site so you can search for parts? All I found was the option to select.

Now I'm going jump over to the Hull Truth and check it out, but something tells me I'm going to run into a bunch of the same guys.

Thanks again!

ps. I hope to make this purchase this month so I can start saving my pennies for my radar next year this time, the 24HD

Scurvydawgg
 
ScurvyDog --keep in mind that there are huge changes in Radar comming down the line--especially with the broad band such as produced by NAVICO (Lowrance, Simrad etc). This uses far less power, and gives much better resolution (descrimination--or esparation of two objects at both medium and short ranges).

Marc, BOE has brick and mortor stores, they have full time people who are excellent at answering questions and resolving issues. They do installations. As for the "captain" issues. I certainly agree that there is a lot of "abuse" of the ticket. Just taking a test and spending a few hours as crew does not make a real professional. However, the folks who operate the NPS and dinner cruise boats are certainly skilled and even though it may not be full time, they put lots of hours on the water.

These are tough times, but the market place eventually sorts out who are the best providers of any marine materials--electronics included. I suspect that those selling marine electronics who are not competent will no longer be in business in a few years. No question that there is a very high level of skills involved in electronics installation--and that many places do not have the expertise to do a good job. (Fortunately the internet does supply a lot of good answers--from folks who are dedicated to boating in general.
 
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